The Bonds That Bind Us
by Wolf Kouji the Great
Summary: Keiko's feeling the loss of a loved one and Yusuke's assigned a new mission. How will these two work things out? ;; Read and find out...


Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor do I really want to...  
  
A/N: This is the first short story I've written in almost a year... And... Unlike the others, it's serious-toned... Which is saying something... Of course, knowing me, I've stuck in a couple interesting moments but... ^__^ Hee hee.   
  
Rating's PG for mild language. (Hiei curses... Once, twice, maybe three times... I don't know, didn't really pay too much attention. But... *shrugs*) No real violence... Perhaps a bit angsty. I dunno, you tell me. I'm not really sure how to categorize this fan fiction... I really don't like the idea of sticking it under "drama" because there's really no action... Hmm... I guess the best I can come up with is "Romance"... But that's just so... *blink* Unlike me. ^__^;; Well, I guess there's a first for everything. A romance fic without enough comical scenes in it to be stuck under "Romance Comedy"... I've really shocked myself. Either way, I hope you enjoy it!  
  
Let me warn you though... It seems rather sketchy. Let me know if you'd like me to write another story to clear up any "plot holes" this might have... Who knows? With enough inspiration, this might become a little series of YYH fan fictions. ^__^  
  
***  
  
Yusuke stared up at the sky. I hope Keiko's okay. I wish I knew why she was crying earlier, he thought, stretching out his legs and leaning back against the tree.  
  
Closing his eyes, he sighed. I wish she'd tell me what's wrong... But then, I suppose it's only fair as I've kept things from her in the past... Soon Yusuke dozed off into a light slumber.  
  
--*--*--*--  
  
Keiko sat on her bed, wiping away her tears as they fell continually down her cheeks.  
  
"Yusuke, you idiot," she said to herself. "When I need you most you just stare at me blankly. You stupid idiot!" She picked up her pillow, threw it across the room, and buried her face into her knees, fresh tears making their way down her cheeks.  
  
There was a knock on her door and her father, looking upset, walked in.  
  
"Keiko?" he said looking concerned.  
  
Keiko sniffed, wiping her face, and looked up at her father. "Yes *Otouchan?"  
  
*(Otouchan means father/dad, for those of you who don't know. Also otousan...)  
  
"Look..." He walked up to her bed and sat next to her. "I... I'm sorry..."  
  
Keiko blinked then wrapped her arms around her father and cried. "Otouchan... It's not your fault *Okaachan's gone..." she said softly with a strained voice.  
  
*(Okaachan means mother/mom, again for those who did not know. Also okaasan)  
  
Her father hugged her and nodded. It'd do him no good to argue, as it would only upset her further. "I know... I still feel guilty though," he murmured.  
  
--*--*--*--  
  
Kuwabara walked up to Yusuke, who was now dozing quite soundly. "Yo! Urameshi! Wake up!" he said squatting down in front of his friend. "Hey, Urameshi!!" He shook Yusuke until he finally stirred.  
  
"Wha...?" Yusuke sat up and looked at Kuwabara, struggling to bring things into focus with his sleepy gaze. Rubbing his eyes, he ventured, "Kuwabara? Have you seen Keiko?"  
  
"No... I haven't, why?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
Finally awake, Yusuke stood and said, "I saw her... She..." He glanced at Kuwabara then in the direction of Keiko's house. "I'm going to go look for her, chances are she's at her house." With that, he took off.  
  
"Bu-- URAMESHI!!" Kuwabara shouted after him but to no avail. "We have a new mission..."  
  
--*--*--*--  
  
Hiei glared at the door, his hands stuffed into his pockets and leaning against Koenma's desk. "How long are those idiots going to take? We've been waiting for a half an hour already," he growled.  
  
"Patience Hiei, patience..." Kurama said calmly smiling.  
  
"Patience! Ha! Don't mock me, Kurama, you know I want nothing to do with patience," Hiei said.  
  
"Yes, most unfortunate too. Makes other aspects of our partnership most difficult as well," Kurama said innocently.  
  
Hiei turned his glaring red-eyed gaze to the taller red-haired demon standing comfortably next to him. "What do you mean by 'other aspects of our partnership'?" he questioned narrowing his eyes.  
  
Kurama smiled playfully. "All in due time, my fiery friend."  
  
Hiei intensified his glare. "What the hell are you talking about?!"  
  
Kurama chuckled and simply said, "You are most amusing Hiei. I suppose I might venture to say that there has never been a dull moment in this partnership."  
  
Hiei glared at Kurama one last time and then returned his fiery gaze to the door.  
  
A few minutes of a surprisingly comfortable silence filled the room until Kurama said nonchalantly, "Oh, and here they come." The door to Koenma's office opened and in walked in a most disgruntled Kuwabara with a cheerful Botan and a teenage Koenma in tow.  
  
"Where's Yusuke?" Kurama asked mildly, raising his eyebrows.  
  
"He's... got other concerns at the moment," Koenma said looking rather annoyed and impatient; he must not have had a very good day that day.  
  
"Oh, is that so?" Hiei growled under his breath.  
  
"Yes, that is so," Koenma said catching his words and looking at Hiei. Hiei glared right back.  
  
"He's lookin' for Keiko, should you want to know," Kuwabara supplied.  
  
"Hmm..." Kurama said raising his eyebrows even further (if that's even possible... *sweat drop*) "Interesting. Why don't Hiei and I go and talk to him?"  
  
"Suit yourself," Koenma said lightly.  
  
"All right, shall we go then Hiei?" Kurama said glancing down at the shorter black-haired demon.  
  
Hiei glanced up at Kurama. "Hmph, whatever," he grumbled indifferently.  
  
"Good. See you guys later," Kurama said as he and Hiei left.  
  
Botan watched them leave. "My... How does Kurama do it?" she said to Koenma when they were finally gone.  
  
"Do what?" Koenma-sama asked, now in his toddler form, sitting in his desk, looking wearily at all the papers piled on top of it.  
  
"How does he know what Hiei means, sir? That is what I'd like to know..." she asked airily.  
  
"I don't know... Don't really care at the moment..." Koenma said rubbing his temples. All this paperwork... Why me...? he thought.  
  
"Hmm..." She looked at Koenma pensively. Suddenly, she blurted, surprising herself, "I like you better in your teenage form."  
  
Kuwabara blinked and looked at Botan; then seeing where this was going, he decided it was best to exit. "Uh... Ahem, I think I'll go an' talk to Yukina..." he said exiting.  
  
Koenma barely paid Kuwabara any mind and looked at Botan surprised. "What?"  
  
"I said, 'I like you better in your teenage form,'" Botan replied a blush creeping up onto her cheeks.  
  
"Oh... uh... well..." Koenma turned to the paperwork piled up on his desk again, only this time not with the weary look he had on before, but flustered and rather red. "I, err... I have work to do s-so..."  
  
Botan sighed. "Okay then..." She turned to leave.  
  
"Uh, wait! I, um, didn't mean for you to leave..."  
  
"Oh...?" She turned around and looked at Koenma a smile spreading on her face.  
  
"Yeah... Um... Go ahead and sit down," Koenma said, indicating a chair across from his desk.  
  
"All right, I will," Botan said hopping into the chair happily.  
  
--*--*--*--  
  
Yusuke paused at the door into the upstairs section of the store Keiko's parents owned, the section in which they lived. Sighing, he knocked.  
  
There wasn't an answer so he knocked again. As before, no answer.  
  
"Strange... The shop's open but no one's down there and no one's answering the door... Maybe..." Yusuke shook his head of all thoughts and tried the door knob. It turned and the door slid open. Now worried, he muttered, "That's strange..." He walked in and shut the door quietly behind him. Glancing warily around him, he quickly took off his shoes and set them down by the familiar pairs by the door. So they are home... And I don't sense anything dangerous lurking about... Though... There's a sense of foreboding... he thought.  
  
"Keiko?" he called, anxious as to where exactly this sense of foreboding found its source. He walked toward her bedroom door cautiously. "Keiko? It's me, Yusuke..."  
  
The door suddenly flew open and Keiko flung herself into Yusuke's arms. "Yu-Yusuke!!"  
  
"Whoa... Wha... what? What's wrong?" Yusuke asked taken aback.  
  
Keiko's father stood up from his daughter's bed and walked up to them looking at Yusuke grimly. Keiko pulled away and glanced at her father. "My... my mother died in the hospital this morning. She had gotten out of the bad end of a car wreck..." Keiko said quietly.  
  
Yusuke, not knowing what to say (yet somehow knowing what NOT to say), bit down the sudden urge to blurt out a biting comment and instead said softly, unsure, "I... I don't know what to say..." He paused a moment and reached out and took her hand in his, squeezing it gently before releasing it again a moment later. "I'm sorry..."  
  
Keiko shook her head and hugged Yusuke. "Don't be."  
  
Just then there was a knock on the door.  
  
"I'll get it," Keiko's father said going to the door. When he opened it there stood Hiei and Kurama. "Who- who're you two?"  
  
"Well, sir, my name is Minamino Shuiichi and this here is my friend Hiei. We've come here to give Keiko something of hers," Kurama said smoothly.  
  
"We are?" Hiei said.  
  
Kurama glanced at Hiei then looked over at Keiko. "You left your notebook at school," he said.  
  
Keiko blinked and walked up to him and Hiei. "Oh, I did?" She looked over at Yusuke, confused.  
  
"Yeah, here," Kurama said handing Keiko a small notebook. She took it and opened it looking at the inside cover, where a small note was written in Kurama's neat curvy handwriting:  
  
"We're here for Yusuke. He's assigned to a new mission."  
  
Sighing, she bowed and said, "Thanks Minamino-san, I appreciate it." Keiko then glanced purposefully at Yusuke. "Say, Yusuke, why don't we go somewhere?" she said forcing a smile. It looked pained and Yusuke winced, wishing to see her smile sincerely. "I think I could use some fresh air."  
  
When Keiko had first heard Yusuke call out her name, she had felt so much better but for some reason couldn't move. However, by the time he called out to her the second time, she couldn't help but feel new tears spring to her eyes. When she had finally bolted out the door and flung herself into his waiting arms, relief and warmth flooded her whole being. But now this. She couldn't take this. Not now...  
  
It seemed like an eternity before Yusuke finally responded with a nod and walked up to her, taking her hand in his and putting his shoes on, taking a step outside the doorway.  
  
Keiko blinked at the contact of their hands and nearly forgot to put her own shoes on as she stepped out after him.  
  
Kurama and Hiei watched this whole exchange, Kurama smiling, Hiei frowning.  
  
Keiko's father, however, seemed subdued.  
  
"Kei-chan, don't be gone too long and have fun," he said nodding at Yusuke.  
  
"You'll be all right by yourself won't you Otouchan?" Keiko asked softly.  
  
"Yes, I'll be fine."  
  
With that said and done, he shut the door behind them.  
  
Yusuke squeezed Keiko's hand gently and tugged her away from the door. "Well?" he prodded softly as he, Keiko, Kurama, and Hiei walked off in no particular direction.  
  
"Let's go to the park," Keiko replied.  
  
Yusuke looked down at her and nodded. He felt abnormally somber. Must be Keiko's mood, he thought. I wish she'd cheer up... But then, what can I say? Her mother just died...  
  
The four walked to the park in thoughtful silence, the couple seemingly unaware of the two tagging along behind them. Kurama was still smiling and Hiei was still frowning.  
  
Yusuke walked up to a bench and sat, pulling Keiko down next to him. Sighing, Keiko rested her head on Yusuke's shoulder as Hiei and Kurama stopped to stand in front of the two, looking at Yusuke.  
  
Glancing up at them, Yusuke wrapped an arm around Keiko's waist, holding her close and said softly, "What is it? Koenma's lined up a new mission for me hasn't he? So predictable. The kid's always keeping me busy; I don't really have time for a life anymore." It was right along the lines of what he usually said, only this time he half meant it.  
  
Kurama, no longer smiling, simply nodded. Hiei looked away, as if annoyed at the sudden somber mood. Everything seemed to annoy him though so no one paid him any attention.  
  
Yusuke sighed and looked off into the distance thinking. He didn't really mind going on missions... Being Spirit Detective brought new meaning to his life, gave him a role in the midst of his chaotic life, something he had seriously lacked before his death.  
  
But the only reason why he was living now... was because of Keiko.  
  
Yusuke's arm around her tightened and he looked down at her. She glanced up at him, smiled, then buried her face into the crook of his neck.  
  
He warmed at her smile and smiled to himself.  
  
But it didn't stay for long. Leaving her now, in her moment of need to go on a mission was upsetting. He didn't want to do it. Yusuke turned to Kurama and Hiei once more. "So... What do I have to do now?" he asked bitterly.  
  
Kurama allowed himself a small smile and said, "Oh... We just have to pick off some demon trash... Hiei, Kuwabara, and I can handle it," he said.  
  
Hiei's head snapped up and he glared at Kurama. "Not that I'm not agreeing with you but what'll Koenma say?!"  
  
Kurama merely shrugged and started to walk away, his hands stuffed into his pockets, smiling softly to himself. Hiei, surprised and annoyed (perhaps at Kurama and the fact that he's surprised him), turned to look over at Yusuke and Keiko, Yusuke being equally surprised. Hiei opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and, glaring at Kurama's retreating back, ran after him.  
  
Keiko giggled, drawing Yusuke's attention back to her. "Those two are amusing aren't they?" she said, looking up at Yusuke smiling.  
  
Yusuke smiled in return and replied, "Yes, they are..."  
  
***  
  
A/N: Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed reading it!! Please, post your thoughts!! CLICK THE BUTTON!! Onegai? *looks at you with wide, pleading eyes* YAY!! Arigatou!!!!!! I love you!! ^__^;; 


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